Exposing the underbelly of Armstrongism in all of its wacky glory! Nothing you read here is made up. Every crazy, weird and wacky quote is straight from the pens of Armstrongite leaders or members who think they possess some insight into God and the Bible. What you read here is the up to date face of Herbert W Armstrong's legacy. It's the gritty and dirty behind the scenes look at Armstrongism as you have never seen it before!

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Philadelphia Church of God's Mark Nash

A reader here commented about Mark Nash of the Philadelphia Church of God and his new moon nonsense. I decided to look the guy up and see what he said.

The very first thing that popped up was nothing about "new moons" but the fact that he was in prison for tax evasion and that PCG let him preach while out on "good behavior" weekends.

Another person of interest is Mark Nash. He is a former Navy Seal or
Green Beret, with all the "talents" taught to them. He went to prison
for defrauding the IRS, and yet was not even suspended while in
prison. In fact, he was allowed to give sermons while on leave for "good
behavior." If any member on the bottom level was similarly put away, he
would be put out for putting the "church" in a bad light. After all,
even deacons are supposed to be "blameless" in the world and of
"good reputation." What gives? What do these men know that keeps them in
the "good old boy network"? These two men, at least, have knowledge
that keeps them on the "inside." Otherwise, Flurry would have disposed
of them long ago. Mark Nash now teaches Physical Ed and who knows what
else. ESN

If he had been a low class regular church member they would have kicked him out. Because he was part of the "elite" they did nothing to him.

Another wonderful legacy of Armstrongism and the Philadelphia Church of God. Flurryism rocks!

10 comments:

Oh, but see, he's innocent though...Satan is attacking the church through the government. That's how you know that he is a true representative of God.

Oh, the persecutions these men of God have to face...

On the bright side, he gets to stay in a minimum security facility better than the motel room that you can afford for the FoT. Of course, he'd rather be in a tent at the FoT but, you know, what with having to keep up appearances and stuff...you understand.

The "elite" ministerial aristocracy have always played by different rules. Since when has this not been the case in Armstrongism, or for that matter, any church I can think of.

Reminds me of an old story of the European aristocracy.

Two gentlemen had been out hunting, but not together. Eager to impress with his numbers, the first aristocrat led by asking, "What did you shoot today?"The second gentleman replied, "I shot a peasant."The first inquired further, "Surely you meant to say, 'a pheasant.'""No, a peasant. He was insolent, so I shot him. Why, what did you shoot?"

It's not murder if an aristocrat shoots a peasant, only if a peasant shoots an aristocrat. And if an aristocrat such as Mark Nash or Ron Weinland goes to jail for tax evasion, it's "persecution." But if a peasant goes to jail for tax evasion, it's "sin." Same as it ever was. Same as it ever was...

Thru their response to the receivership crisis, the Armstrong movement went over the boundary line with regard to what is written in Romans about a Christian's responsibilities to the civil authorities, and I believe there was a paradigm shift at that time which explains some of these episodes which seem to be happening with impunity in the splinters.

Prior to receivership, if a minister got in trouble as a result of the church's doctrines, and found himself in jail, the church would bail him out. Conscientious objectors who went to jail were seen as heroic defenders of the faith. And there were parents who sometimes ended up in jail when things spun out of control due to their adherence to the medical doctrine. They were pretty much allowed by WCG to hang out there unassisted, and by themselves, flapping in the breeze, but they were welcome at church, and everyone prayed for them. Basically, ambassadors for the kingdom of God did not have the diplomatic immunity that conventional ambassadors enjoy.

In fact, if someone had an accident while driving uninsured, or drove drunk, they were encouraged to accept their punishment, in some cases even advised to plead guilty.

I can see where this Nash case could be controversial, and Flurry might have given him wiggle room. Did he lie and falsify his return? That would not only be sin, it would also call into question his trustworthiness and example as a minister. Was he falsely accused? Did he fail to pay because there was nothing left after his tithes and generous offerings? Or, yes, does he know something which could potentially damage the church or someone else's credibility?

The ACOGs take tithing drop dead seriously. Where it concerns the IRS, they gave up taking "Thou shalt not steal." legalistically or seriously a long time ago.

This very well may be true, but this is also the type of claim made by many con-men. On a lesser scale, one's military accomplishments have been bolstered by such stories. If I recall, Joesph T. was made out to be much more than he really was while in the navy.